Breath
by KelseyO
Summary: The first thing he saw was Ray Donald Swan on top of his rookie.  The second thing he saw was McNally not moving.  Slight rewrite of 1.10.  Sam/Andy, because let's be honest, they are freaking adorable.
1. Chapter 1 Andy

**So this is taken from the Big Nickel episode where McNally and Swarek have to transport the prisoner. I liked the episode just fine, but I decided to make the situation a bit more extreme. My first Rookie Blue fic ever, let me know what you guys think. :)**

He came out of nowhere.

She heard the leaves rustling, but by the time she turned around, it was too late. She saw the stick out of the corner of her eye and barely jumped back in time to avoid it. The second swing got the gun out of her hand. The third swing connected hard with her shin and sent a burst of pain through her leg.

And then she was on the ground, reaching for her gun, but he was too quick. He yanked her around like a uniform-clad rag doll until he had her pinned below him.

"Where's your partner?" he asked her as she struggled against his grip, and soon he was pressing his hand tightly over her mouth. She thrashed with all her strength but then his knee was pinning her arm and his other hand was squeezing her windpipe.

She tried to make as much noise as possible, to scream past his fingers and call for help, but all that came out were small, muffled grunts; she was no match for him.

"I'm just gonna _squeeze_…_squeeze_…" he told her, drawing out the word each time, "You're gonna pass out. It's okay."

The calm tone of his whispers sent a chill down her spine and she shook her head at his words, but her lungs were already heaving for air and she knew she wasn't going to last much longer.

"Shhh, it's okay," he said, seeing the panic in her eyes, but he only pressed harder into her throat. "I'm gonna get your gun, and you're not."

This was all her fault, she thought as her lungs began to scream. If she hadn't opened the car door, if she hadn't made that stupid rookie mistake, she wouldn't be suffocating underneath this man, this criminal who had chatted her up like they were close friends.

And she had fallen for it. She let herself be taken off-guard by his "manners," and even with Swarek muttering to her to stop being so friendly with the guy, she had still gotten distracted enough to not think before trying to save him from his "allergic reaction."

Her vision was getting blurry now. He shifted his weight to get a better angle at her neck and it didn't take long for her to feel her world swaying around her. Black spots appeared and began to block everything from view; within ten seconds, she was surrounded by darkness.

Her limbs relaxed one by one. Her eyes drooped closed. Her lungs gave up.

And then, nothing.

**I know this first chunk is short, but the next one and the one after that should be a bit longer. No idea how long I'm gonna go with the story. Reviews are much appreciated. :D**


	2. Chapter 2 Sam

**First off, I want to thank all of you for your feedback and support. I had no idea this story would get such a big reaction. Anyways, for this chapter keep in mind that I know nothing about police lingo or terminology, so please forgive my lack of accurate verbal procedures. With that said... Enjoy :)**

The first thing he saw was Ray Donald Swan on top of his rookie.

The second thing he saw was McNally not moving.

And then he was sprinting through the trees, heading straight for Ray, and before the man even had the chance to react, Swarek's right foot connected with his face. The blow sent him flying off of McNally and left him writhing on the ground, holding his nose.

Swarek dove to Andy's side and quickly felt around for a pulse. When he found nothing, he gritted his teeth, glanced briefly between her and Ray, then finally ripped his cuffs from his belt and stormed over to the prisoner.

He turned him onto his stomach and seized his wrists, grinding his knee into the man's back as he attached the handcuffs. "If she doesn't make it," he growled, leaning down so his mouth was right next to his ear, "I swear to God, I'll kill you."

With that, he left the man to his bloody nose and turned back to McNally. It sickened him to see her like this, sprawled on the ground, completely unmoving.

He took a deep breath to steady himself and grabbed his radio. "Officer down. I need an ambulance on Route 4, east of the North Region Police Station. Our black-and-white is pulled over, we're in the woods.

"McNally," he called out, gently slapping her face a few times. "McNally, you with me?" He lifted an eyelid but her gaze was blank. He finally tilted her head back, leaned down low to check for any breathing, and began pumping her chest in a quick, steady rhythm.

He stopped after a while, pressing his lips to hers and blowing in. He once again studied her face and cupped her cheek. "Goddamnit, McNally, give me something," he muttered before returning to chest compressions.

_One, two, three, four, five, six, seven…_

He counted out loud to himself, each syllable coming out as a pant. His arm muscles were starting to burn from doing the motions over and over again, but he wouldn't stop. He couldn't.

Again he went to her mouth, sealing their lips together and forcing air down her throat. He took another breath and as their mouths connected, he felt it.

She started to cough.

He watched in relief as she spluttered back to life, simultaneously choking and gasping for air. He held her face in his hands as he waited for her to open her eyes. "Andy? You in there?" Her eyelids slowly blinked open and her lungs heaved. "Whoa, easy there," Sam said softly, brushing some hair out of her face.

Her pupils focused and she finally locked eyes with him. "Sam," she said, her voice cracking, and he couldn't tell if it was a statement or a question.

"Yeah, that's me."

Her eyes darted around for a moment before finally settling on Ray, who was still on the ground a few yards away. Andy immediately jerked away but Sam held her down.

"It's okay, McNally. He's not gonna hurt you again," he assured her, looking her square in the eye. He glanced at Ray. "I'n that right, Pal?"

Ray just groaned. "Jeez, man, I think you broke my nose."

"Yeah, I'm real sorry about that," Sam replied, rising to his feet and approaching him. "See if this makes you feel better." He took out his gun and smashed it against Ray's skull, leaving the man unconscious on the ground. He got a mini tracking device from his belt and attached it to Ray's cuffs.

Sam returned to McNally's side, kneeling down and scooping her up into his arms in one smooth motion.

She tried weakly to wriggle from his grasp as he headed back toward the road. "Put me down, Sam. I'm fine."

He looked down at her with an arched eyebrow. "You just got strangled to death and brought back to life. You ain't walking anywhere."

"I'm fine," she repeated stubbornly.

"Shut up," he retorted like had so many times that day. He looked ahead; he could already see the trees thinning out. They were almost there.

**You guys were awesome with feedback for the first chapter. Can we keep it going for this one? Reviews are much appreciated :D**


	3. Chapter 3 Andy

**Sup y'all? Sorry about the wait, college has been getting crazy and I don't have much time to write anymore. Thanks for bearing with me. I'll be able to write more over Thanksgiving Break and winter vacation, promise.**

Damn Sam Swarek and his strong, muscular arms.

Andy hated being babied, and she absolutely loathed being the victim. But as much as she didn't want to be carried out of the forest like a freaking damsel in distress, she couldn't argue with his logic—her head was still reeling and she couldn't stop trembling, try as she might.

Sam shifted his arms under her and the sudden movement knocked her legs together, causing her to grimace in pain as she tried to stifle a groan.

"You okay, McNally?" he asked, glancing down at her.

She closed her eyes briefly and swallowed. "Yeah, it's just…he hit me in the shin and it's still tender."

Sam nodded. "Mind the legs. Got it." He shifted her again, but this time he was cautious and gentle as he tightened his arms around her and brought her closer to his chest.

Andy was suddenly struck by how different Sam felt compared to Luke. Yes, Luke was strong and safe and ridiculously attractive. But Sam—there was something about him that she couldn't quite put her finger on, and yet she couldn't get it out of her head.

"Well, now that you saved my life it's gonna be pretty impossible for you to get back on Luke's bad side," she said, studying Sam's expression as he considered her statement.

He arched an eyebrow. "That's _wonderful_ news," he replied flatly, his voice dripping with enough sarcasm to make Andy smile. "I guess I should just retire now, because there's no way I can accomplish anything more impressive or meaningful than getting Luke Callahan to like me."

She rolled her eyes playfully. "He's a good guy, you know."

"Yeah," he said, staring ahead with a small smile on his face, "I know."

Andy saw something there in his expression, something that she had never seen before, but before she could figure out what it was, he cleared his throat and his expression returned to neutral.

"Alright, chit-chat's over, we're back to civilization."

Andy turned her head just in time to see two paramedics approach them with a gurney in tow. Sam set her down on the cushion and they immediately pounced, forcing her to lie back then wrapping a blood pressure cuff around her arm and strapping an oxygen mask to her face before she could even react.

"Guys, I'm fine," she tried to tell them, but the mask muffled her speech and they probably wouldn't have listened to her anyway. As they began loading her into the ambulance she noticed a second cruiser beside their own and realized that Williams and Peck were there. Their expressions were anxious as Swarek spoke to them, probably filling them in on what had happened.

One of the paramedics began cutting away at her pant leg, making a straight line down the center and then parting the flaps to reveal her injury. She attempted to sit up and get a better look at it but she only saw a jagged line of angry red before the other paramedic gently forced her to lie back again.

"Try to relax, Officer McNally," he instructed, "You'll have plenty of time to check out your battle scars at the hospital."

Suddenly Peck hopped up into the ambulance. "Got room for one more?" she asked, making an effort to keep her voice casual, but there was an edge to it—anxiousness, or maybe reluctance.

Andy must have looked very confused because Peck then rolled her eyes and glared at her fellow officer. "Don't look at me like that, McNally. I'm here on Swarek's orders." Andy almost laughed. "He and Williams went to get Swan," Peck continued, and a hint of a smirk appeared on her face. "I hear Sam did quite a number on him."

Andy couldn't help it; her mind drifted back to the woods, back to Swan crushing her body with his, back to his hand around her throat…

Her breathing sped up. She felt light-headed. She was shaking again.

"McNallly?"

She heard Peck call out to her nervously, but she sounded far away. She felt a hand on hers and held on as tightly as she could, trying to get the world to stay still, but everything around her was fading quickly as Swan's voice echoed in her head.

"_I'm just gonna squeeze…squeeze…You're gonna pass out. It's okay."_

For the second time that afternoon, Andy McNally's world went black.

**It would be awesome if you guys could leave me some reviews. I hope you enjoyed this chapter-I may not be able to update for a few weeks, but I'll get it out as soon as I can. :)**


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